I am painting a ceiling and it seems there are many more roller marks than when painting a wall. To be honest this time around the evenness of the paint on the walls even seems lower quality. I wonder if I put enough paint on the roller to begin with. Other background ... I did use the same roller (shurline 3/8") for both ceiling and walls. The total time that one roller was used was about 4 hours.

2 Answers
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Shurline roller covers are a mid range quality cover, but not bad and should do the job fine. I like to use Purdy White Cloud covers for final coats. If you are getting lots of ridge lines, that usually indicates that you are pushing too hard on the roller and trying to stretch the paint. Don't be afraid of loading the roller, obviously, you don't want it to be dripping, but don't work too much out of the roller before you start to apply the paint. If you find yourself pushing harder to transfer color, then you need more paint on the roller. Also do smaller sections at one time, not much more than a 4ft by 4 ft. Cover an area wall to wall one side to the other, then make one continuous long stroke over the entire length softly to even out the paint and remove ridges. Keep in mind, especially with cheap ceiling paints, the first coat always looks spotty and should improve with second coat.

+1 for Purdy! not sure what they do different than other companies, but their products are far superior.
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Tester101♦Mar 15 '11 at 16:23

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Quality tools and good knowledge of how to use them make for a good finish product.
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shirlock homesMar 15 '11 at 21:03

Thank you very much. I'll use the application suggestions you provided and get the Purdy white cloud. I am using a benjamin Moore Natura semi gloss (decorator's white). So I defintely think its my application rather than the paint. I'll post to let you know hoe it goes.
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user2065Mar 16 '11 at 15:02

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BM paint is good stuff. Semi-gloss is a bold choice for a ceiling. As you increase in gloss types of paint, it is even more important to try to apply it evenly as the glossier paints will show thinner spots much more than a flat or eggshell finish. Take your time.. Good luck.
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shirlock homesMar 16 '11 at 17:15

This sounds like your pressure on the ceiling is different than on the walls. Also, are you tipping off after covering the area?

I've also found depending on the roller (not cover, the handle) that I use, the pressure on the roller is uneven enough that I had to tip off in one direction or the other--usually the 'free' roller end has less pressure and so I tip off away from it.